Sacred Space: The Womb of Creation

As much as we desire food and clothing, we seek sacred space. We may look for it in the cavern of a vast cathedral or the human scale of a bench under a tree. Yet, physical settings are merely portals to intimate encounters with something vividly real and mysteriously elusive. Here are a few sutras on sacred space that attempt to frame this wordless realm with words.

Sacred space is the stillness embracing you now.

Sacred space is the gap between two breaths.

Sacred space is the opening of each doorway you pass through.

Sacred space is the opening between hope and fear.

Sacred space is a spiral simultaneously expanding inward and outward.

Sacred space offers sanctuary to all forces and beings in creation.

Sacred space is a stillness containing all wisdom.

Sacred space is compassion.

Sacred space hovers between shadow and light, sound and silence.

Sacred space is points beyond itself to the indescribable.

Sacred space is the womb of creation.

Sacred space, moving within itself, sparks the passion of creation.

Within sacred space, life discovers its possibilities.

Sacred space is revealed where nature touches imagination.

Sacred space is found where human desire engages the desires of stones.

Sacred space ignites spirit in matter.

Sacred space is the arc of the heart intersecting the line of the mind.

Sacred space is grace.

Sacred space is the simplest of structures and an endless realm of exploration.

The Real Secret: Silence

Last night, tired and alone, Life pressed me into silence. It looked like it was going to be a dismal evening when I slipped into a calm acceptance of the situation. Then I reconnected with the unseen power of silence. With a little some reflections from my Twitter friends Linda Hollier and SnowandStars the following silent sutras floated through my awareness.

• Sometimes, a lifetime of wisdom, experience and inspiraion becomes meaningless and silence says everything.

• There is no physical silence. In an isolation chamber you will hear the blood circulating in your ears. The only true silence is in that which is aware of your thoughts, words and actions.

• Silence is always present in the spaciousness surrounding your thoughts.

• Your can always find silence in the space within your chest.

• Since silence is always present, it is not the goal of spiritual practices. Silence is the groundless ground from which all practices and creations arise.

• Silence is the womb through which everything comes into being.

• Galaxies, planets, mountains, forests, oceans, cities, bodies, thoughts and everything else all reside in silence.

• We use words to communicate, but it is silence that we truly share.

• Silence, our essential nature, is so alive and vibrant Mind cannot comprehend it.

• Across shooting stars and light years of space/time, silence already and always connects.

• Mind, encountering silence, sees its insignificance and conjures universes to obscure the intensity of silence's shimmering song.

• In the community of silence, saying nothing communicates volumes.

• In the radiant freshness of the thousand petalled lotus, all creation gathers to offer a seat for silence

• Bells ring, flutes sing, guitars wail, drums beat by vibrating silence into sound.

Mind sees silence as its greatest threat when it is everything Mind seeks.

True love is silence embracing and caressing all that is as it is.

From the "empty" space within a seed grows the whole tree.

Notice the simplest particle you can imagine—an atom, a leaf, a drop of water, a dust mote in the morning sun—and see a silent miracle.

Yes,and love is made of silence. Touching silence we touch love

Silence is the primal substance from which all forms are crafted.

Space and time have no dimensions without gaps of silence.

The architecture of the universe would be a black whole without dwelling spaces of silence.

Sound is silence shimmering through Mind.

Color is silence shimmering through eyes.

Texture is silence shimmering though fingertips.

Noise is Mind's resistance to silence.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night, taking these broken wings & learn to fly. You were only waiting for this moment to arrive. Paul McCartney

The great surprise: our wounds are openings through which genuine love, wisdom and creativity enter our lives.

When life humbles us into silence, it's not so we become small. It's so the small ego transparent and silent, so the vast power and wisdom of life can pour thru.

Co-Creating with Earth

The other day, a friend pleaded with us to develop sustainable energy systems. Since Earth has been researching and developing such things for billions of years, I realized the best way to create sustainable energy systems is to learn from Her explorations and become co-creators with Her. The following thoughts came to mind.

The first step in building renewable energy systems is to get beyond human-centered mind & participate as co-creators with Earth.

The second step in building renewable energy systems is to live as nature lives, in a fluid system that makes dissolution integral to renewal.

To become a co-creator with Earth, spend time with Her, dialoguing with trees and streams, wind and rain. Listen beyond human ears with soul ears.

To co-create with Earth, let go of guilt about dwelling here. Open to silence and listen for your personal connection to dwelling wisely with land, air, plants and animals.

To co-create with Earth experience each building and object as the alchemy of nature and imagination. Then re-imagine your relationship with nature.

To co-create sustainable energy systems, notice that nature does not conserve energy. She guides its flow into continuously renewing loops.

To co-create with nature, let go of distractions. In this moment, open to Earth as the shimmering, dancing, alive being She is. Enter the dance

To co-create with Earth, become aware that we, animals plants & "inanimate" objects are expressions of soul interacting with itself. Let that awareness permeate your being. From that awareness of being act.

Remembering Courage in Daily Life

On Memorial Day we remember the courage of those who left the safety of their homes and faced the horrors of war so that we might engage the simple pleasures of living in peace. Today, I'm honoring their sacrifice by remembering the courage it takes to live each day with wisdom, creativity and humor. A few of the following courageous acts in daily life I'm remembering are:

• the courage it takes to offer your life to a force greater than your personal fears and limitations.

• the courage it takes to simply look into the eyes of another, receive that life, and acknowledge our unity.

• the courage of opening to the spacious now containing & continuing through all creations, destructions & renewals.

• the courage to hear the call of the soul, leave the safety of the known, enter the field of uncertainty & discover life's fluid designs.

• the courage it takes to admit that we are lost and willing to listen into silence for direction.

• the courage of peering into the core of your being and see the no-thing that is everything.

• the courage it takes to shift from life being a problem to be solved to engaging it as a mystery to be explored.

• the courage of admitting there is no solid ground beneath our feet and we live in an ocean of fluid possibilities.

• the courage of admitting you are no better or worse than anyone else, that you share the same human hopes and fears.

• the courage it takes to see your most cherished beliefs shattered to reveal the living truth beyond words.

• the courage it takes to see the enemy as a reflection of your hidden fears and honor the one life force connecting you.

• the courage it takes to simply appreciate and enjoy what is.

A Great Tide Carries Us

The great tide carries us

through currents of ocean desires.

Ignoring this, we flail and squawk,

drawing lines on the sea,

crafting stories in air.

Measuring streets on water,

and identities in sky

we build fluid cities

pretending solid ground

is under foot.

One day, the depths stir.

A mountainous force rises.

Sinuous as a dream,

it eludes perception

until its gargantuan mass

glides through the surface.

An enormous eye

meets our tiny gaze

and we are shocked awake

by the vast consciousness

staring back at us.

Prepare for this moment.

Caress the elusive life force

mysteriously appearing

in the slight gaps

between things.

Live the vast destiny

beyond your small self,

the great tide carrying us.

Beyond Mindfulness, Isfullness

In overcast light,

an old oak,

gnarled and moss-covered,

receives rain.

A wooden chair,

bleached grey by the sun,

is darkened with wetness.

Random tapping...

raindrops,

footfalls on cedar steps,

car door slams,

engine revs,

bird calls,

refrigerator hum,

more...

Sound, light, texture

fill space.

Senses move,

engaging.

Through the senses

mind flows,

filled with the miracle

of being conscious

in a body,

in the garden of the world.

To call this "mindfulness"

could reduce the world

to the space within the skull.

To call this "body-fullness"

might foster beliefs in the limits

of physical form.

To name this sensuous totality anything

may miss

the delicious permutations

of spaciousness

flowing as consciousness

as mind

as body

as world

as we know not what

as the sweet failure

of attempting to describe

the indescribable.

The best I can say,

Is-fullness....

In overcast light,

an old oak,

gnarled and moss-covered,

receives rain.

When Your Vision Meets the World

I've been rereading The Crossing of the Return Threshold, a chapter in Joseph Campbell's brilliant classic The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Campbell describes the archetypal return from a transcendent, life transforming experience into the world of day-to-day concerns. The journey though the mystical realms left behind the values and distractions of the conventional mind. From the viewpoint of normal waking consciousness, the wisdom brought back from a mystical experience is baffling. The formless being encountered in visions has no apparent use among the usual pursuits of efficient action focused on money,time, power and fame.

If you are lucky enough to have had your life turned upside down by a direct encounter with the mystical unity of existence, you know the disorientation that can happen when you return to daily life. You see people living fragmented lives imagining themselves as whole. If you try to share the vision that dissolved the boundaries of your isolated self and connected you to the wholeness of creation, you know the blow of skeptical looks. You've passed through the confusion of dear friends not having clue as to what you're talking about. You find that what is essential and revolutionary to you is meaningless to the conventional mind. You face a daunting dilemma: how can the elusive wisdom of what is beyond words be expressed in common language?

You may wonder, why re-enter the ego-centered, dog-eat-dog world? What's the use of sharing the priceless jewel of radiant consciousness with those who would slice up the gem and sell off the pieces as stylish trinkets.

Yet, there's no turning back. The transcendent vision of the mountain top is lost in the commotion of the marketplace unless it is integrated into the day job of living in the world. To be truly whole, we must survive the impact of limited minds. The task of translating the unexplainable into the explainable cannot be avoided. Engaging this impossible task while knowing it will fail, is essential to the individual ego becoming transparent to the radiance of the universal soul.

Crossing the return threshold is the beginning of a whole new adventure. Discovering the elixir of cosmic understanding in the depths of consciousness was only preparation for discovering that healing power shimmering through every grain of creation. More on that in the next post...

In this Society, the Soul Wanders Shocked & Homeless

In this society, the soul wanders

homeless and shocked.

The constant elbowing

and pushing ego

knocks it senseless.

Even the simplest of soulful ways,

moving to Nature's rhythms

and following Her song-paths,

becomes a constant struggle.

Processed inspirations are sold

as medicine for the aching soul.

But instant soup can't fill a belly

longing for real food.

So the soul retreats to its native habitat—

forests, mountains, honest books, raw poetry,

spaces where two hearts whisper secrets...

There, the soul remembers it is

the source of every thing.

It recalls how society was born

from Nature's wild womb and

returns to the workaday world

seeing its radiance

sparkling in the eyes

of every mask.

Trusting Spontaneous Gestures

I've Learned to Trust the Spontaneous Gesture.

For decades, I studied and experimented,

striving to get the work right.

All that work is paying off.

Beginning a design or writing project now

is not the same as it was in my twenties.

Every form my mind imagines,

every line my hand draws

has years of trial and error in it.

Is this wisdom? I don't know.

Is it repeating old patterns?

It doesn't feel that way.

All that experience actually frees me.

I've lost any desire to copy.

I live to experiment,

push the edge,

not give a damn what others think,

let the mysteries of life work through me.

This is what I've learned, friend,

the more I trust the spontaneous gesture,

the greater the miracle life becomes.

Healing Space: New Architecture for an Emerging Culture

This is the first in a series of imagination design projects. It presents a new architecture for the new consciousness emerging in the 21st century. In this design approach, I draw upon ancient wisdom used to design sacred places for thousands of years. At the same time, it reflects innovative technologies that integrate mind, body, soul and nature. One of the core tasks of our time is mending the world broken by dualistic thinking in the scientific age. Splitting life into human and natural, science and art, money and soul has created an unworkable planet. Mending the rift involves reweaving the torn fabric of the earth. With this in mind, the first design of the new architecture is a place for personal renewal and revitalization.

HEALING SPACE

In life, most of us are wounded by illness, the death of a loved one, heartbreak or other incident. If this happens, we often long for a safe place to let go and allow the organic processes of nature and consciousness to mend the shattered circle of our lives. Yet, few places receive mind and body simply. Usually, we are pressured toward a quick cure. Yet, ignoring the soul’s true needs leaves us with an empty image of wholeness. Hidden wounds go untended and genuine balance is never regained. HEALING SPACE explores a design that invites the innate wisdom of the psyche to discover its unique path to remembering wholeness.

UNDERGROUND LEVEL FLOOR PLAN: WOMB SPACE OF RELEASE & VISION

(1) DEPARTURE THRESHOLD The threshold to HEALING SPACE is a jagged gap. It recalls the wounding incident that shatters lives. Pausing at this threshold gap, the power of the wounding force is fully met. Within the watery gash a circular steppingstone offers support for crossing. (2) DESCENT Stone steps lead into the earth, toward the womb of healing. Through downward movement, mind and body surrender to gravity’s pull toward a grounded core. (3) PASSAGE THROUGH CONFLICT At the bottom of the steps, two pillars frame a portal to the paradox of healing. The pillar on the right is carved with images of rebirth such as the sun, flowers and fruit. On the left, a waning crescent moon, withering plants and other images depict the decay, death and release, clearing the way for healing. (4) SURRENDER Passage between the Twin Pillars of Healing leads to an underground womb space. Floor paving depicts a giant serpent, an image of shedding what is worn and dead to reveal what is fresh and vital. Niches within the walls of the circular space provide pockets for surrendering what will clear the way for healing—broken beliefs, emotions, relationships to name a few. (5) PURIFICATION At the center of the space is a pool of warm water. Recessed below the surrounding floor, the pool creates a fluid place where rigid limitations can dissolve and flow into new patterns. (6) SLEEP & DREAMS To the east of the Purifying Pool is a place for resting and dreaming. A bed provides a safe, comfortable place to let go completely and settle in the depths of healing. (7) BURNING Fire is a primal force in cleansing what cannot be washed away or released through rest. A brazier provides a place for symbolically burning away obstacles healing and to transforming dense, dead matter into radiant energy. (8)VISION Release and deep rest clear the way for renewed visions of dwelling in wholeness. West of the central pool, a raised platform offers a place to meditate and cognize healing forms emerging from spacious silence. (9) EMERGENCE Rested and energized by visions of fresh possibilities, the Emergence Portal frames a return from the dark womb of healing. Similar to the Devouring Portal, twin pillars depict images of anticipation and trepidation. (10) ASCENDING From the Emergence Portal, a flight of steps ascends from the inward perspective of the underground space to the broader view at ground level.

GROUND LEVEL FLOOR PLAN: CREATIVE SPACE OF CONNECTION & EXPRESSION

The spectrum of healing includes assimilation and restorative play. This space provides varied opportunities for discovering patterns wanting to be expressed as well as integrating the knowledge of healing. (11) BODY/MIND An area for strengthening the body in connection to the mind through yoga and exercise. (12) CREATIVITY A work surface supports writing, drawing and other artistic exploration. (13) INTEGRATING STORIES A library books relating stories from world cultures about the human journey through healing transformation. A video monitor is provided for watching inspiring and funny stories that encourage healing. (14) NOURISHING A place to site and absorb beautiful melodies, forms, colors, tastes and fragrances of nature. 15) BETWEEN EARTH & SKY Openings in the floor and ceiling connect to the water and darkness below and the sunlight and rain from above.

SKY LEVEL FLOOR PLAN: ALIGNMENT & ORIENTATION

Complete healing includes connecting to the totality of earth and the heavens. The roof of Healing Space offers a place to connect the healing of the body, mind and soul with the wholeness of cosmic spirit. (16) ASCENDING Steps lead from the earth’s boundaries and shadows to the sky’s expansion and light. (17) POLE STARAt the apex of the ascent, a stainless steel instrument, tilted at an angle parallel to the earth’s axis, points toward the pole star. Orientation to this point about which the entire universe appears to rotate enlivens stability within change. (18) SKY VIEWING TERRACE A flat roof offers a platform for unobstructed views of the revitalizing patterns of the sun, moon and stars. Floor paving patterns indicate the direction of sunrises and sunsets on the summer and winter solstices and the equinoxes, marking seasonal transitions. (19) RETURN Steps descend to ground level. (20) REBIRTH Crossing the threshold of wholeness marks the return to world where healing can integrated into daily life.

Architecture by Anthony Lawlor

www.anthonylawlor.com